1. It's
All Right With Me
2. Don'cha
Go 'way Mad
3. Bewitched,
Bothered and Bewildered
4. These Foolish Things
5. Ill Wind
6. Goody Goody
7. Moonlight
in Vermont
8. Them There Eyes
9. Stompin'
at the Savoy
10. It's All Right With Me
11. Don'cha Go 'way Mad
12. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
13. These Foolish Things
14. Ill Wind
15. Goody Goody
16. Moonlight in Vermont
17. Stompin' at the Savoy
18. Oh, Lady
Be Good!
19. How High the Moon
Ella Fitzgerald - Vocals
Oscar Peterson - Piano
Herb Ellis - Guitar
Ray Brown - Bass
Jo Jones - Drums (tracks 1-16)
Connie Kay - Drums (tracks
17-18)
Tracks 9, 17-18 add:
Roy Eldridge - Trumpet
J. J. Johnson - Trombone
Sonny Stitt - Alto sax
Lester Young, Illinois Jacquet, Coleman Hawkins, Stan Getz, Flip Phillips - Tenor saxes
Track
19
Lou Levy - Piano
Herb Ellis - Guitar
Wilfred Middlebrooks - Bass
Gus Johnson - Drums
Here is more proof - if proof were needed - that Ella
Fitzgerald was one of the supreme singers of the 20th century. In
fact the title of this CD really only refers to the first nine tracks,
which were recorded at Chicago Opera House in September 1957. Tracks
10 to 18 come from a concert the following month at the Shrine Auditorium
in Los Angeles. Both sets were originally released in stereo and mono
versions entitled Ella Fitzgerald at the Opera House. This
CD also contains a bonus track (How High the Moon) from the
Playboy Jazz Festival in August 1959.
Ella sings radiantly on all 19 tracks, although buyers
may baulk at the repetition, since the first nine songs are virtually
identical with the next nine songs - the only difference being that
Them There Eyes in the first concert is replaced by Oh,
Lady Be Good! in the second. Yet this duplication has some benefits,
such as being able to compare Ella's different performances of the
same song. For example, her two versions of Stompin' at the Savoy
start similarly, although the second is slightly slower, but when
she goes into scatting, the two interpretations differ greatly. And
the second performance is two minutes longer than the first.
Even if you don't want to make a detailed comparison
of the performances, you can still sit back and enjoy Ella's superb
vocal tone and control - and her inspired improvising. Note, for
instance, how she handles Them There Eyes, starting with two
downward arpeggios, then holding back subtly with the lyrics to accentuate
the swing, and adventuring up and down her range. Or savour her unaccompanied
coda at the end of These Foolish Things. Or recognise the sensitivity
with which she sings Ill Wind - a rendition that challenges
Billie Holiday's classic version of the song.
The album ends with Oh, Lady Be Good!, which
displays Ella's versatility and humour, and a mid-tempo How High
the Moon which doubles in speed, proving that Ella's vocal stamina
as well as her ingenuity was unsurpassed.
The recording is sometimes rather fuzzy but the album
captures Ella when she was often at her most daring: singing to a
responsive audience.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Essential
Jazz Albums EJA 034
